International Brain Stimulation Conference

Awards

The International Brain Stimulation Award

2027 International Brain Stimulation Award winner announced

Award recognizes influential research in the neurosciences

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Mayberg is the recipient of the 2027 International Brain Stimulation Award. The awardee is determined by the Senior and Deputy Editors of Brain Stimulation, based on nominations from the entire brain stimulation community.

The International Brain Stimulation Award (IBSA) acknowledges outstanding contributions to the field of brain stimulation. These contributions may be in basic, translational, or clinical aspects of neuromodulation, and must have had a profound influence in shaping this exciting and fast-growing field of neuroscience and medicine. The award will be presented at the 7th International Brain Stimulation Conference, Feb 21-24, 2027, Lyon, France, where Dr. Mayberg will deliver a plenary lecture.

Dr. Mayberg is a Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Neuroscience and AI and Human Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, NY, USA. After completing her MD degree from the University of Southern California, she trained at the Neurological Institute of New York at Columbia University and was a post-doctoral fellow in nuclear medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Immediately prior to joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Mayberg was Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Radiology and held the inaugural Dorothy C. Fuqua Chair in Psychiatric Neuroimaging and Therapeutics at Emory University School of Medicine.

As a behavioral neurologist, Dr. Mayberg has established an international reputation for her pioneering research to map the brain circuits implicated in depression. Early in her career, she developed one of the first “network” models for mood disorders—incorporating fundamentals of neuroanatomy and brain connections with imaging technologies—to propose an alternative neurological view of this classical psychiatric condition that extended beyond the neurochemical models that had dominated for decades. This circuit approach evolved over the years and continues to anchor many contemporary studies of mood disorders, including the development and refinements of deep brain stimulation and other neuromodulation strategies for treatment-resistant depression.

Early in her career Dr. Mayberg used positron emission topography (PET) scans and later, functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to highlight Brodmann area 25 (BA25) as a brain area strategically positioned to impact the frontal lobes as well as deep regions in the amygdala, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and brainstem. This circuit likely regulates emotion, motivation, memory, self-reflection, sleep, and other basic drives, all of which can be disrupted in depressed patients. While at the University of Toronto in the early 2000s, Dr. Mayberg led a research team that tested the first use of deep brain stimulation of BA25 in patients who had become unresponsive to all available antidepressant treatments. The surgical technique uses activation of electrodes placed in the brain to adjust and correct the abnormal communication between BA25 and other regions of the brain.

“Dr. Mayberg helped shift the model of how depression modulates the brain into a disorder of regional circuitry, not merely a chemical imbalance. Her PET studies highlighted this dysfunctional circuit, and she led pioneering studies applying deep brain stimulation in these dysfunctional regions as treatments. Her initial studies and models showed a skeptical world that brain stimulation interventions alter brain activity and help with depression’ said Dr. Mark George, Editor in Chief of Brain Stimulation. “She has also trained and mentored many of the innovative scientists in this field.”

"Over several decades, Dr. Mayberg’s groundbreaking work has led to the widespread research of deep brain stimulation as a treatment for depression.” according to Dr. Harold A. Sackeim, founding editor of Brain Stimulation. Her focus on the subgenual cingulate cortex and its interactions with prefrontal regions has strongly influenced the development of new approaches to target selection across brain stimulation interventions.

International Brain Stimulation Early Career Award

Deadline: 28 August, 2026

The International Brain Stimulation Early Career Award recognizes the impact on the field of neuromodulation of an individual early in their career. The awardee must be 15 years or less since last academic degree or fellowship, and will be selected on the basis of outstanding contributions to the field of brain stimulation, whether in basic, translational and/or clinical research.

Applicants should submit a synopsis of their contributions (≤ 600 words), a list of 5 most important references relevant to the field of brain stimulation, and 2 letters of support from outside their institution. All submissions will be electronic and submitted to the email address, [email protected]opens in new tab/window, with the subject line “2027 International Brain Stimulation Early Career Award”. The awardee will be invited to present a plenary lecture at the Japan meeting, and will receive a certificate, travel expenses, and a cash prize. The deadline for receipt of applications is 28 August 2024.

Previous Winners

2021: Charleston, USA Michael D. Fox received the award for his research on developing new and improved treatments for brain disease by understanding brain circuits and the effects of neuromodulation.

2023: Lisbon, Spain Colleen A. Hanlon was given the award for her use of imaging and neuroscience principles to innovate and elevate the field of TMS for addictions.

2025: Japan Andreas Horn a pioneering young scientist who is transformed how we visualize and place electrodes in the brain for research and therapy.

For all awards, recipients are selected by the Senior Editors and Deputy Editors of Brain Stimulation: Basic, Translational and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation, with consideration given to the diversity of the meeting. The financial aspects of these awards are supported by Elsevier Inc.

International Brain Stimulation Best Poster Awards

The International Brain Stimulation Best Poster Awards were first given at the inaugural 2015 meeting in Singapore. At each of the three poster sessions, one poster will be selected for this award. The poster presenter will receive a certificate and a cash prize of $500 (US).